Impact of Nocturnal Enuresis on Health-Related Quality of Life in Children.

Abstract

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of nocturnal enuresis (NE) on Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in children with a special emphasis on the domains of HRQoL.

Methods: This was a case-control study in which consecutive children with NE were recruited along with their parents. Age and sex-matched children without enuresis served as controls. Age-appropriate children and proxy versions of the German Quality of Life Questionnaire (KINDL) were used to evaluate HRQoL and its domains. The clinicodemographic characteristics and family data were collected. HRQoL and the domain scores were compared between the patients and the control subjects.

Results: 100 children (50 of whom are males) with enuresis along with their parents were included in the study. 100 children served as the control group. The mean age of the patients was 9.58±2.77 years, and was no different from that of the control group. 55% of the children were receiving treatment for NE. The most common treatment was the nighttime waking (40%). The most commonly used drug was desmopressin. The median score of the health-related quality of life was 78.8 [69.2-83.3] in children with NE versus 90 [86.7-91.7] in the control group (p<0.001). In all domains, the median scores were significantly lower in children with NE compared with the controls.

Conclusion: Turkish children with NE had a significantly lower HRQoL score compared with children without NE. All the domain scores were also significantly lower in children with NE compared with the control subjects.